1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to infrared detectors and, more particularly, to an infrared animal detector and driver warning system for alerting a driver of the presence of a path-crossing animal.
2. Description of the Related Art
Many car and truck owners at one time or another have encountered near misses with deer and other wild animals. Should a vehicle make contact with a deer, extreme damage to the automobile is likely, while in some instances, injury and even death to the driver or occupants have occurred. According to the records of the U.S. Department of Transportation, in 1993, there were 95 recorded human fatalities caused by collisions with animals, 13,000 reported injuries, and over 225,000 reported instances of property damage resulting from vehicular collisions with animals.
In the related art, many methods of detecting the nearby presence of animals are known. For example, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,461,231, issued in the name of Sugimoto et al., a passive type moving object detection system is disclosed including a stationary infrared detector for detecting passage across a detection zone. Also, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,214,408, issued in the name of Asayama, a distance detecting apparatus for a vehicle is disclosed for determining the distance to a plurality of objects present in a driver's field of view.
However, none of these devices as disclosed are capable of being adapted for portable use in an automobile for warning drivers of potential collisions with wildlife such as deer, elk, and the like. One attempt to repel such animals is known in U.S. Pat. No. 5,214,411, issued in the name of Herbruck, wherein an ultrasonic animal repelling apparatus is disclosed. Once again, such an apparatus is unadaptable for use with an automobile, would be affected by temperature and vehicle speed, and would sustain limited success in repelling only a limited number of different animal types.
Consequently, a need has been felt for providing an apparatus and method which detects an animal crossing a vehicle's path and alerts a driver of the presence of such animals.